How (not) to spread Communist propaganda behind the Iron Curtain: exhibitions of Polish folk art in Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam in the late 1940s

This paper explores the 1948–1949 exhibitions showcasing Polish folk art, initially held in Poland and then sent westwards: to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. They were organised by Polish Communist authorities under the ‘Recovered Territories’ campaign that aimed to assert Poland’s historical and ethnographic ties to its new territories that before World War II had belonged to Germany. This propagandist effort sought to reinforce the post-war European status quo, with the exhibitions in question serving as an important element of the campaign. This case study constitutes therefore one of the earliest manifestations of the East-West Cultural Cold War. Analysing exhibition catalogues, press reviews, and archival documents, this study investigates the extent to which the propagandist objectives were achieved in the West. Additionally, it examines how French, Belgian, and Dutch representatives of the field of culture responded to Communist propaganda and mitigated its effects.